With the win, McCarron became the first-ever quarterback to win back-to-back
BCS National Championships. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban recorded his fourth
title overall and third in the last four seasons.

"People talk about how the most difficult thing is to win your first
championship. Really the most difficult is to win the next one, because
there's always a feeling of entitlement, and the commitment that these guys
made two days after we played LSU last year in the National Championship game
to be a team, to set a goal to accomplish something of significance is really
special for what they were able to accomplish," Saban said.

McCarron completed an efficient 20-of-28 passes, while Eddie Lacy added 140
yards and a touchdown on 20 carries to earn the offensive MVP award for
Alabama (13-1), which captured its 11th national title.

T.J. Yeldon followed with 108 yards and a score on 21 carries, and Amari
Cooper finished with 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns on six receptions in
the victory.

Everett Golson completed 21-of-36 passes for 270 yards with a touchdown and
an interception as the Fighting Irish (12-1) were denied their first
undefeated season since 1988.

Notre Dame entered the game averaging 202.5 rushing yards a game, but Theo
Riddick, Golson and Cierre Wood combined to pick up just 32 on the
ground against Alabama's stout defense.

DaVaris Daniels paced all receivers with 115 yards on six catches in defeat.

"Congratulations to Alabama. They were the better team today," Notre Dame
linebacker and Heisman Trophy runner-up Manti Te'o said.

Alabama received the ball first and immediately kicked off an impressive first
half by picking up chunks of yards, as McCarron found Kevin Norwood deep down
the right sideline for a 29-yard gain after making a play-action fake on the
second play of the game.

Lacy reeled off a 10-yard run up the middle on the next play that had 15 yards
tacked on for a facemask penalty. Two plays later, Lacy shrugged off a
defender during a 20-yard touchdown run to hand the Crimson Tide the lead less
than three minutes into the first quarter.

The 82-yard march was the longest drive Notre Dame's top-ranked scoring
defense had allowed all season.

"We needed to come out and start fast, and that's always key for us, starting
fast," said McCarron. "I'm just glad we got to set the tone, and it really set
the tone for the rest of the game."

The Fighting Irish were held to a three-and-out on their first touch of the
game when Tyler Eifert was ruled to not have full possession of a catch near
the left sideline on a 3rd-and-2, and Alabama regained the ball at their own
39.

Lacy then converted a 3rd-and-1 with an 8-yard run to move the ball across
midfield before McCarron converted another third down with a 7-yard strike to
Marvin Shinn.

Faced with another 3rd-and-1 at the Notre Dame 23, Lacy avoided a defender in
the backfield and rumbled through the Irish defense for a 20-yard gain.

On the next play, Michael Williams snuck behind the Notre Dame defense
following a play-action fake by McCarron and easily hauled in a 3-yard
touchdown, handing the Crimson Tide a 14-0 advantage with 6:14 left in the
opening frame.

Alabama seemed to have recovered an Eifert fumble near the Notre Dame 30 on
the next play from scrimmage, but a review showed his knee was down before he
had the ball ripped out and the Irish retained possession.

Notre Dame would manage just one first down on the drive, though, and the
Irish were forced to punt again.

McCarron found Norwood and Cooper on consecutive plays for gains of 25 and 11
yards, respectively, on the Crimson Tide's ensuing drive. Cooper then hauled
in a 27-yard pass to place the ball at the Notre Dame six.

Yeldon capped the 8-play, 80-yard trek with a 1-yard push across the goal line
on the first play of the second quarter.

Golson was able to connect with Daniels for a 31-yard gain on the Fighting
Irish's next offensive play to move the ball inside Alabama territory for the
first time, but they would manage just five more yards and Golson's deep pass
attempt intended for T.J. Jones on a 4th-and-5 was broken up to turn the ball
over on downs.

Notre Dame, however, was able to hold Alabama to its first punt of the game
after a completed pass by McCarron that would have converted a 3rd-and-12 was
called back for a holding penalty.

The teams traded punts from there until Alabama took over on offense at its
own 29 with 3:43 left in the half. Yeldon ripped off a couple of 10-yard runs
before McCarron found Christion Jones on a post for a gain of 27 yards,
placing the ball at the Notre Dame 11.

Lacy grabbed a short pass on the next play and spun around a tackle attempt
inside the 5-yard line en route to a touchdown with 31 seconds remaining in
the half to give the Crimson Tide a 28-0 advantage at the break.

Notre Dame seemed poised to put together its first scoring drive of the game
on the opening touch of the third quarter, as Golson connected with Daniels
for a 21-yard gain before a 3-yard run by Riddick gave the Irish a fresh set
of downs at the Alabama 36.

But two plays later, Golson had a deep pass attempt down the right sideline
tipped into the air, and Alabama's Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix was able to get a foot
down in bounds during a leaping interception at the 3-yard line.

Alabama capitalized on the turnover with a 10-play trek Lacy kept alive with a
3-yard run to convert a 4th-and-1 at the Notre Dame 37 and McCarron capped
with a 34-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Cooper on the right side of the
field with 7:34 left in the third quarter.

The Fighting Irish were able to put an end to Alabama's shutout bid on the
ensuing drive, a 9-play, 85-yard march ending with a 2-yard touchdown run by
Golson on an option that made it a 35-7 game.

Earlier in the drive, Golson converted a 3rd-and-16 at the Notre Dame 37 with
a 31-yard strike to T.J. Jones, and a roughing the passer penalty later on
moved the ball into the Alabama red zone.

The Crimson Tide, however, got those points right back and ended any notion of
a miraculous Notre Dame comeback with a lengthy 14-play drive that lasted
nearly eight minutes, stretched into the fourth quarter and was finished with
Cooper's 19-yard touchdown grab with 11:27 remaining in the contest.

Notre Dame answered with Riddick's 6-yard scoring catch on its next touch to
cap the scoring.

"Alabama was the better football team, but I love the way our guys kept
fighting and kept competing. They didn't quit at all," Notre Dame coach Brian
Kelly said.

Game Notes

Notre Dame had not allowed more than 26 points in a game all season ...
Alabama improved to 6-4 all-time against top-ranked teams and 2-5 against
Notre Dame ... Notre Dame fell to 5-1 all-time in No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdowns
when sitting atop the national rankings ... The Crimson Tide improved to 62-3
when leading at the half under Saban ... The Fighting Irish were first team in
the BCS era to reach the National Championship game after starting the season
unranked. BYU is the lone team to start a season unranked and win a national
title, accomplishing the feat in 1984 ... Alabama finished with 529 total
yards, while the Irish ended with 302.